At the end of that period, although Janesville has been able to recover — at least on paper — with an unemployment rate under 4 percent, the jobs don’t pay as well and few of the characters are as well off as they were before the factory closed.

The book is filled with startling — and disturbing — facts and figures. Job re-education and retraining doesn’t work for the people in this community. Sadly, the people who attempt it don’t end up any better than the people who just go out and find new lower-paying jobs. Far too many teens end up going to work way early to help support their families.

And under Wisconsin law, teens who go to school online are exempt from wage and hour restrictions that normally would control how many hours they can work.

The book doesn’t offer any easy fixes to solving what happens when a town loses its major manufacturer, but it does provide a fascinating look at how people respond to that challenge.

is the breaking news/weekend editor for the Denver Post. She joined the Post in August 2014 and previously held editing roles with the Fort Collins Coloradoan, the Des Moines Register and the Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader.

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